Speaking at the India Today Conclave South 2017 during a session titled 'Why invest in the South: The case for change', Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development RV Deshpande said, "merit in politics compromised by caste, loyalty to leaders". He was joined by Thiru MC Sampath, Minister for Industries, Tamil Nadu, KT Rama Rao, Telangana Minister for Information and Technology, Industries and Commerce and MM Pallam Raju, former Union Minister.

On the second day of the India Today Conclave South 2017, Executive
Director of Toyota Kirloskar Manasi Kirloskar, Vice President of Apollo
Charity, Upasana Kamineni, CEO and co-founder of BlurTimbre Music Serah
John and designer Dia Bhupal attended a session titled 'The Next
Generation: Banking on Youth'. The session was moderated by entrepreneur
Sethu Vaidyanathan.

N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, spoke to senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai during a session titled 'The great digital leap: Andhra Pradesh' at the India Today Conclave South 2017. During the session, he said "I'm the protector of the welfare of Andhra Pradesh people." He also said, "I'm a reformist. I never created a problem for Central government on policy issues."

Speaking for the first time at a public forum since being elevated as the working president of the DMK, MK Stalin said his party regrets its decision to initially support PM Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive.

There’s never a dull moment when you’re in the south. When I see the six states of south India, I don’t just see breaking news. I see a powerhouse the rest of India could emulate. The south’s literacy rate, percentage of population above poverty line and GDP are all significantly higher than the national average. The combined GDP of the states puts them among the top 30 economies of the world.